Ten Things Kate Loves About Jack
by beautiful little fool
Summary: She loves that she loves him because for her, loving him makes her a better person. Jate.


**A/N:** After watching the Season 4 finale, I felt like I needed to write something to fill the void that was the hiatus. I hope you like it.

**Disclaimer:** Lost does not belong to me.

**Ten Things Kate Loves About Jack**

**Summary:** She loves that she loves him because for her, loving him makes her a better person.

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She loves that he's a hero who refuses to acknowledge that he is. No matter what sort of heroic deed he commits, whether it be operating on an open body or leading a group of strangers on a deserted island, he refuses to acknowledge it as anymore than what any other person would do in the same situation. But she knows that's not true. She can't imagine anyone else willing to go the lengths he has gone for the safety of all the people stranded on the island. He was the one true hero, no one else.

She loves that his smile makes her life seem complete and whole. It's not a cocky smirk or a full out grin, just a simple smile that warms her up her insides and makes her wish he'd never stop smiling. She loves the way the corners of his lips turn up to bring out his dimples and the way his eyes crinkle around the edges. There's nothing but pure, genuine happiness when he smiles and she always finds herself smiling back. It's that infectious.

She loves the fact that he's perhaps the most selfless person she has ever known. Always willing to sacrifice himself for the sake of others, always willing to put himself in danger to protect her. Even when she isn't able to offer him anything, he's always there only a step behind her, pushing her out of harm's way. And the thing that gets her most is that he never asks for anything in return from anyone, especially her. She often wonders whether there is any real bad in him or if he really is as good as he seems.

She loves that he was willing to change for her, no matter how difficult it might have been. He overcame his demons, the guilt and the addiction, so that they could be happy together. His shifts at the hospital aren't as hectic and he's home with her and Aaron every moment he gets. He has made drastic changes for her and she doesn't know if she could ever do the same. She wouldn't know how to change. But he did, for her and Aaron's sake.

She loves how his hand always searches hers out no matter where they happen to be. At a movie in the dark, out for a walk in broad daylight, his hand always manages to find hers as if it's on autopilot. She loves the way it makes her feel, having the knowledge that she has him with her, keeping her safe and loving her in a way no one else has loved her before. She wraps her hand tightly around his because she wants to make him feel the way he makes her feel.

She loves that he loves her despite all of her faults and flaws, always willing to accept them because he knew that that was who she was. She smiles to herself as she recalls him sternly telling her that he wouldn't accept her without all her flaws. She doesn't deserve to be loved by him, and yet he does anyway. He has never once asked her to change, nor has be placed expectations of any kind on her. She doesn't feel that she has to live up to something when she's with him. She can just be herself and she loves him for that.

She loves that he has always waited for her. Waited while she denied her feelings, waited for her to realize what she felt for him and for her to accept his love for her. And always with patience. Never has he pushed or prodded her one way or another, never demanded her to make a decision. He's always left the choice up to her, giving her all the time she needed as he waited in the shadow until she was ready.

She loves that he has never tried to pry into the life she had lived before they met. Always allows her to keep the dark secrets that she could never bring herself to share. He lets her forget, let go and move on with her life. And what he does know, he accepts. He doesn't frown in disapproval and his eyes never darken with disappointment. He doesn't care about the things that she's done in the past because he knows that she hates to hurt people, hates watching others suffer. He understands her in a way that no one else has before. All that he cares about now is her fresh start. His only concern is their life together and making the best of it.

She loves how every night he whispers, "I love you" into her ear and places a kiss beneath her ear just as she's drifting off to sleep. She loves that he's the last person she hears before she closes her eyes and the first person she sees when she opens them. She relishes the fact that he lays beside her every night, keeping her warm and safe, their hearts beating in sync.

She loves that she loves him because for her, loving him makes her a better person. She knows she doesn't deserve to love him; that some cosmic mistake was made and one day he would be taken away from her by a much more deserving woman. But everyday she still finds him there next to her, smiling at her, kissing her, loving her. She knows she doesn't deserve him, but that only makes her love him that much more.

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**A/N:** Thanks for reading and please leave a review. Reviews always help inspire me. Next up... Ten things Jack loves about Kate... obviously.


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